Healing Gabriel

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

I've been hard at work the past couple of months on a new series. This series will focus on the children of Avery and Tristan.

Below is the first chapter of "Red Moon Rising". Red Moon Rising is set twenty-some years after Red Moon and tells the story of Avery and Tristan's son James. This new book will be released on Amazon and Smashwords in January of 2014.

Happy Reading and thank you again for your continued support!

Red Moon Rising

Copyright 2013 Elizabeth Kelly

This book is the copyrighted property of
the author, and may not be reproduced, scanned or distributed for commercial or
non-commercial purposes.Quotes used in
reviews are the exception.No alteration
of content is allowed.

Your support and respect for the property
of this author is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely
coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used
fictitiously.

Adult Reading Material

She stumbled through the forest, her body trembling
violently and her vision blurred.The
sun was setting slowly and she could see her breath in the cold air.She had used her shirt as a bandage but the
blood from the wounds on her side had already soaked through it and dark rivers
of blood were streaming down her leg.

She was dying.She
had managed to kill one of the beasts, more from luck than any kind of skill,
but not before it had wounded her mortally.She staggered on anyway.The
other two would soon discover their dead brother and it would not take them
long to find her.They would smell her
blood and track her down.If the gods
were merciful she would already be dead before they found her and ripped her
body to pieces.

She stopped and leaned against one of the thick trees, the
bark scraping against her bare back as she took shallow, gasping breaths. The small dog at her feet whined nervously and
pawed at her leg.

“Tia.”Her voice was
thick and she coughed weakly, moaning when it made her sides burn.Blood coated her mouth and lips.Her ribs were broken, she was sure of
it.She had both heard and felt the
crack when the beast threw her against the tree.

She raised her hand and touched her face gingerly.Her battle with the beast had left her face
battered and bruised.One eye was
swollen shut completely and her lips were bruised and swollen from having her
mouth punched.She touched her front
teeth experimentally with her tongue, wincing when they wiggled loosely in
their sockets.She was surprised they
hadn’t been knocked out completely.

“Tia.”She tried
again.“When I die, you have to leave me.”

The dog stood and rested its small paws on her shin.It whined again and she smiled at the
dog.“Don’t stick around.They’ll kill you if they see you.You have to – “

She coughed again, moaning and crying out with the pain as
fresh blood poured from the wounds on her side.

“You have to run away.Find a new family okay?”She
whispered.

The dog barked once, shrilly, and she winced.“Hush Tia.”

She made herself push away from the tree.Oddly enough the pain was a little
better.It had been replaced by a
curious feeling of numbness.She pulled
the sodden material of her shirt away from her wound and stared at the blood
spurting from the four deep slashes.

“That can’t be good.” She whispered and then laughed
weakly.She replaced the drenched
material against the wounds, why she bothered she didn’t know, and stared down
at the dog.

“Do you hear me Tia?Find a new family.Don’t stay
with me.”She stared into Tia’s soft
brown eyes and then frowned when the dog cocked its head, stared into the
trees, and then turned and bolted away.

“I’m not dead yet damn you.”She muttered.Her heart squeezed
painfully.The little dog’s abandonment
hurt more than her broken body did but it was for the better.She swiped a shaking hand across her mouth,
staring dully at the blood on her fingers, and lurched on.

They would bring her head back and stick it on a pole beside
the others.She cringed at the thought
that her brother would see it.He had
screamed and raged and begged the beasts to allow him to take her place in the
hunt.They had laughed and sneered at
him.He was too valuable to be used in
hunting.

They had stopped laughing when he had attacked and killed
one of them with his bare hands.Valuable or not, they would have torn him apart if she had not gotten on
her knees and begged Draken to spare his life.

They hadn’t let her say goodbye to him, hadn’t let her hug
him and tell him she loved him.The last
time she had seen him he had been pinned to the ground, his face red and his
muscles straining against his captors as he fought to get to her.

She swallowed thickly, tasting the metallic tang of blood,
as tears began to slip down her cheeks.She was suddenly so weary she couldn’t take
another single step.She collapsed to
the ground, her breath wheezing in and out as her lungs laboured to draw air
into them.

She was cold and so very tired.Her eyes slipped shut and she pictured her
brother’s face - his strong jaw and clear blue eyes.His eyes had once danced with laughter but it
had been many months since there had been anything but anger and sorrow in
them.

There was snuffling beside her and a warm, wet tongue licked
her forehead.She forced her one good
eye open and stared at the small dog.

“Tia.”She
whispered.

Tia whimpered softly and looked behind her.The dying woman followed the dog’s gaze,
squinting at the two figures behind the dog.Dread filled her body.They had
found her.

One of them crouched beside her and she realized with a
faint thread of relief that it was not one of the beasts.The man was as big as her brother, his
shoulders broad and heavily muscled.His
eyes were a dark brown, they looked nearly black in the dim light, and his hair
was a rich, dark red.

The second figure knelt beside him, he was blonde and blue
eyed, and almost as big as the redhead.Even with only one eye working properly, she could see the horror and
disgust on his face.

“Gods be damned James.What happened to her?”

The redhead grunted.“I don’t know Nicky.”

He leaned further over her.“What is your name girl?”

She ignored his question and with the last of her strength
reached up and brushed his face with her bloody fingers.“Tia.Please help her – “

A sudden, stabbing pain shot through her chest and she
screamed hoarsely.Darkness crept across
her vision and the last thing she saw before it overtook her, was the redhead
reaching for her.

* * *

The thumping in her head was loud and irritating.With her eyes closed, she reached up and
massaged at her temple.It didn’t
help.The thumping continued - a solid constant
beat that demanded her attention.

She wanted to ignore it.Her side hurt and her head hurt and she was exhausted.She wanted to drift back into sleep but the
thumping wouldn’t allow it.She
frowned.Her bed was moving.Only a little but it was definitely
moving.

She forced her eyelids up and her mouth dropped open with
surprise.Her bed wasn’t a bed at all
but a human being.She was sprawled
across the body of a man twice her size.Moving carefully she lifted her head from his chest.The thumping stopped and she realized that it
was the solid beat of his heart she had been hearing.

Not daring to move anything but her head she looked
around.She was in a tent; cold sunlight
was filtering through its walls and although she could see her breath, she
wasn’t the least bit chilled.The man
beneath her radiated heat; it surrounded her entire body and –

She realized with sudden horror that she was completely
naked and the gods help her – so was the man underneath her.She froze, her pulse thudding and her eyes
widening as she stared at the man’s broad chest.It was covered in a layer of reddish-brown
hair and despite the cold weather, he was deeply tanned.His chest was rising and falling evenly and
she risked a glance at his face.He was
sleeping soundly and she studied his face carefully.He had a broad nose and wide cheekbones and
freckles covered his tanned cheeks.

He looked to be around her age and he was a handsome man, she
decided.He was also huge.Her small frame fit neatly on top of him with
room to spare.He would be at least a
foot and a half taller than her, her feet barely reached his knees.If she –

For the gods sake –
what are you doing?In case you’ve
forgotten, the man is very naked and very much a stranger.Get your naked self off of him and get out of
his tent before he wakes.

She decided that was excellent advice.Moving slowly, she slithered off his body
onto the blanket beside him.He snorted,
his hands twitching by his sides, but didn’t wake.She almost screamed out loud when a cold nose
poked into her back.She twisted her
head, flinching at the pain in her face, and stared into the face of the small
dog.

“Tia!”She breathed
softly and the dog licked her face, her entire body wiggling.

“Hush Tia.” She said quietly before turning back to the man
beside her.She started to slide out
from under the blankets that covered them and then paused, reaching for the
edge of it.

What are you
doing?Have you gone mad?What do you think he’ll do if he catches you
staring at his naked body? Her mind
moaned at her.

She ignored the voice and lifted the blanket a little.In all of her nineteen years she had never
once seen what was between a man’s legs and curiosity was winning out over her
fear.She lifted the blanket higher,
squinting to see in the dim light below it.Before she could fully see what was between his legs, he muttered
thickly and turned away from her.She
stared at his naked back and ass for a moment before scooting out gingerly from
under the blankets.Away from the heat
of his body, the cool air brought goose bumps to her skin and she began to
shiver.Her clothes were nowhere to be
seen but his were piled neatly on the ground and she picked out his shirt and
slipped into it.The material was cold
but soft and it fell past her knees.Tia
scratched at her legs and she reached down and petted the small dog, wincing at
the pain in her side.

She frowned.Lying in
the redhead’s bed she had felt tired but there had been only a dull ache in her
side and her face.Now, sharp pain was
radiating from her side into her back and her face was throbbing dully.She touched her face gingerly, noticing for
the first time that she could see out of both eyes.The one that had been puffed shut was tender
and sore but not swollen the way it had been before.She pressed her tongue against her front
teeth.They didn’t move and she frowned
a little.They had been loose last
night, she was sure of it.

The evening came flooding back to her.Her fight with the beast, the agonizing pain
in her side and back when he had thrown her against the tree.She paled and reached for the hem of the
shirt, lifting it up and studying her side carefully.

It was swollen and bruised and she could see four barely-scabbed
over cuts where the beast had swiped her with his long claws.She blinked in astonishment.Last night they had been wide, gaping slashes
with blood pouring from them.

She looked down at her dog.“What’s happening to me Tia?”She
whispered fearfully as she dropped the shirt.

She decided that for the moment she didn’t care.What mattered was getting out of here before
he woke up.Her side was burning and
throbbing and she would have to move slowly.She needed to put as much space between her and the stranger as
possible.

“Come Tia.”She
whispered.Her eye fell on the sword
lying next to his pants.She hesitated
and then picked it up.It was heavy and
it hurt her side to hold it but she would take it anyway.

“Good morning.”

She screamed breathlessly and whirled around.The cuts on her side split open and she could
feel blood dripping down her side as she lifted the man’s sword and held it in
front of her.

The redhead was sitting up in his nest of blankets.He yawned and suddenly stood and her eyes
dropped automatically.She flushed
scarlet at the sight of his penis.It
was partially erect and as big as the rest of him.

He walked towards her and she stumbled back, holding the
handle of the sword tightly in her hand and giving him a warning look.He ignored it and reached for his pants,
slipping into them and smiling a little at the redness of her cheeks.

“Do you know how to use that?”He pointed to the sword in her hand.

“Yes.”She lied.

He reached out with terrifying quickness and knocked the
sword from her hand.It clattered to the
ground, barely missing her bare toes, and he picked it up quickly.He held it out to her, handle-first and
grinned at her.

“Try again.”

She glared at him and snatched it from him.Her sudden movement ripped open the
barely-healed cuts on her side even more and she fought back the wave of nausea
that went through her as she felt the blood soaking into his shirt.She swayed a little and he frowned.

“You’re not fully healed yet.”He held out his hand.“Come to me.”

She scowled and backed away towards the opening of the
tent.

“Do not be frightened of me little one.I only wish to help you.”

“Stay away from me!”She spat at him.

“Tia - that is your name is it not?”

She frowned in confusion at him as the dog at her feet
perked its ears up and then ran to the man.She stopped in front of him, her tail wagging happily and as the man
reached down, rolled on to her back.

He rubbed the dog’s belly and the woman made a low moan of
dismay.She whistled softly and the dog,
after licking the redhead’s hand, bounced to her feet and ran back to her.

“We’re leaving.If
you try and stop me, I’ll kill you.”She
whispered.

She backed out of the tent.The man made no attempt to follow her as she stepped into the cold
morning air.She trembled violently and
pressed her hand against her side.It
was getting hard to breathe again and she felt weak and faint.

She took a deep breath and turned to flee into the
forest.A blonde man, his expression
amused, was standing behind her.

“Good morning.”He
stared at the sword in her hand.“Are
you planning on hunting for our breakfast?”

She lunged at him, lifting the sword and jabbing it at him
weakly.He sidestepped her easily and
she tumbled to the ground, crying out at the bolt of pain that went through her
side.Dimly she could hear Tia barking
and the blonde man cursing and then the redhead’s face was over hers and he was
staring at her gravely.

“Stay away from me.”She whispered weakly as he plucked the sword from her limp hand.

Monday, 4 November 2013

So have I mentioned how awesome I think you guys are? Because if I haven't, I'll say it right now.

"YOU ARE AWESOME!"

Although I've been writing for years, I'm new to the world of self-publishing and to be honest, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I hoped that there would be people out there who enjoyed reading my stories as much as I enjoyed writing them but as I started the process of self-publishing I reminded myself constantly that writing was a tough business.

Years of being rejected by traditional publishing houses had made me certain that self-publishing would fail as well. I tried anyway. I wanted people to read my stories and I figured if even a couple of people read them and enjoyed them, I would be thrilled.

I took a deep breath and published one of my favourite stories. A short little novel about two people finding love in an unexpected place. The response I received was both overwhelming and exhilarating. You loved Lucy and Jason as much as I did and your enthusiasm for them inspired me to write a second part to their story.

I can't say thank you enough for your support. As a small token of appreciation, I'm offering a short excerpt that didn't make the final cut of Twice Tempted. It's just a fun and light-hearted glimpse at what happens when Lucy turns the tables on Jason. A sweet (and a little naughty) "quickie" if you will. ;)

If you would like this FREEpdf excerpt, just send me an email at elizabethkellybooks at gmail dot com with "Tempted Quickie" in the subject line and I'll email it off to you.

Thank you so much for your support, for reading my stories, and most importantly - for sharing with me how much you like them. Talking with readers has been the best part of this journey.

Friday, 20 September 2013

The weather is starting to turn cool and I couldn't be happier. Not because I hate the heat (although I do) and not because I'm looking forward to cozy sweaters and jeans and boots again (although I am), but because I hate to shave. And let's be honest - there's less shaving of the legs in the winter. I mean, I'm not going full on Sasquatch over here but I don't shave my gams every single day (sorry honey).

Lots of women hate to shave but I really hate it. I like to think I have a good reason for hating it. About fifteen years ago I nearly died from shaving my legs.

I was in my mid-twenties and living on my own in a tiny little apartment. One morning I woke up and realized that my leg was kind of sore. In fact it was so sore I was limping. Upon investigation I discovered a large red bump on the inside of my upper thigh, just above my knee. It was so painful to the touch that I was forced to wear a skirt to work that day. My pant leg brushing against it was like being brushed with fire.

Later that morning I went to my family doctor, a lovely woman named Dr. Meg, assuming I had a boil or something on my leg. She took one long look at it, probed it gently with her fingers and then gave me a strange look.

Dr. Meg: Elizabeth, you need to go to the hospital right now.
Me: What? I can't go to the hospital. I have to go back to work.
Dr. Meg: No, you're going to the hospital. I am not kidding about this. You leave my office and go straight to the hospital.
Me: Um, okay?
Dr. Meg: See how it's red all around the lump? I'm going to take this pen and mark where the red is.
Me: Why?
Dr. Meg: It's an easy way to let us know how quickly the red is spreading.
Me: Oh.
Dr. Meg: I'll call ahead to the hospital and let the infectious disease people know you're coming.
Me: Infectious disease? Am I dying? I'm dying aren't I?
Dr. Meg: *pauses* Noooo...but you have a really bad strep infection.
Me: Strep infection? My throat's not sore!
Dr. Meg: Sweet Jesus Elizabeth! Stop arguing with me and get your ass to the hospital right now!

When I arrived at the hospital the infectious disease team was waiting for me. I was hustled into a room and a stern-looking doctor and an intern showed up within minutes. The stern-looking doctor examined my leg for a few minutes, poking and prodding at the lump as I hollered and cursed every time he touched it.

He frowned at the pen marks and asked when they had been made. At that point, the red had nearly doubled in size and was well past the pen marks Dr. Meg had made. When I told him twenty minutes give or take a few, he grunted loudly in alarm and turned to his intern.

Infectious Disease Doctor (IDD): If we start her on IV antibiotics immediately there's a chance we'll be able to save the leg.
Me: *blink, blink*
IDD: She's allergic to pencillin so let's try her on clindamycin. It should be powerful enough to knock back the infection.
Me: Um, I'm starting to feel slightly alarmed here.
IDD: Have you had clindamycin before young lady?
Me: No, but if I may, did you say there's a chance you'll be able to save my leg? Because it sounded like you said that but obviously I have misheard you.
IDD: You heard me correctly.
Me: Am I dying? I'm dying aren't I?
IDD: You have an extremely serious strep infection that is on the verge of turning into flesh-eating disease. We're going to start IV antibiotics today. If we're lucky and caught it in time and if the antibiotics are powerful enough, you'll keep your leg. If it doesn't work and turns into flesh-eating disease, best case scenario - you lose your leg. Worst case scenario - you die. Do you understand me?
Me: Perfectly. Also - do you have a bucket I can vomit into?
IDD: You can vomit after we get an IV into you and start the antibiotics.

Obviously the treatment worked as I have all four limbs, but it was the scariest moment of my life. After a few days of having an IV lodged in my hand and going twice a day to the infectious disease center to have antibiotics pumped into my body, the doctor actually ended up lancing the lump (at that point, the most painful experience of my entire life). Apparently it was full of an astonishing amount of pus.

Oh, and it turns out that I was also allergic to the clindamycin, but it had already knocked back a significant amount of the infection before I turned into a giant walking rash and had to switch to yet another antibiotic.

The strep infection was caused from an ingrown hair. The ingrown hair was caused from shaving. Ingrown hairs are quite common and happen to a lot of people. Only in my case I nearly died from an ingrown hair. How lame would that sound in an obituary? Seriously, I would have been all, "Tell people I was killed pushing a small child out of the path of a speeding bus."

Friday, 6 September 2013

To celebrate the release of "Twice Tempted", the conclusion to Lucy and Jason's story, I'm running a contest where a reader can win a free pdf copy.

It`s super easy to enter the contest - just leave a comment on this post. The contest will be open until midnight (pacific time) on September 8th. One comment will be drawn randomly and if it's yours - you win!

On September 9th I'll announce the winner on this blog and I'll send you your pdf copy of "Twice Tempted" by email.

Lucy rang the doorbell of the large and
impressive looking two-story house. She
had hemmed and hawed over going for most of the afternoon and still wasn’t sure
that she had made the right decision.The door opened; Jerry’s wife Heather beamed at her in delight and she
was suddenly glad she came.

“Lucy!Honey, it’s so good to see you!I keep telling Jerry to invite you over for dinner but you know him – he
just grumbles about keeping his professional life separate and sneaks off to
his shop in the back to tinker with his cars.Which is just silly because the man loves you like you’re one of his own
daughters you know.”

Lucy flushed a little and Heather
laughed.“It’s true.I know he acts all gruff and serious at the
office but he’s such a softie.Oh, he’d
kill me if he knew I was telling you this.”She looked around before leaning forward and whispering
conspiratorially, “You’ve always been his favourite at the office.”

Lucy laughed.“Well don’t you tell him this but he’s always
been my favourite as well.”

Heather looked her up and down.“You look lovely tonight Lucy.”

“Thank you.”Lucy tugged at the hem of her shirt.“I wasn’t sure if this was a formal or casual
event so I threw a skirt on rather than my jeans just in case.”

“You would have looked just as lovely in
jeans my dear.Besides, it doesn’t
matter what you’re wearing – we’ve got a mixture of everything tonight.”

“It was really nice of Jerry to do
this.”Lucy said.

“I thought so too.Jerry thought it would be good to have a bit
of a shindig for everyone at the office.You’ve all been working so hard for the last six months and the company
has been doing so well – you deserve a night of celebration.”

Lucy was still standing on the doorstep and
Heather smacked herself lightly in the head.“Oh for heaven’s sake!Come in –
come in!I didn’t mean to leave you
standing on the doorstep like a lost little waif!”

She stepped back and Lucy followed her into
the house.“Don’t worry about your shoes
Lucy.”Heather called over her
shoulder.“The others are gathered in
the living room and the dining room – go on and start mingling and I’ll grab
you a glass of wine.”

Lucy went down the hallway and into the
living room.She scanned the room
quickly.Nearly everyone from the office
was there, and the living room and adjoining dining room were filled with
people.Alex was standing by the
fireplace talking with Maureen and Wallace, and Jerry was standing next to
Carol and gesturing wildly, his face already a bit red from the wine.

She scanned the room again, refusing to
admit to herself who it was she was looking for.When she didn’t see him her pulse, which had
been thudding loudly in her ears, quieted down. Ignoring her disappointment she headed towards
Penny who was standing next to the large bay window.

* * *

“Oh my God!Look who just walked through the door!”Penny couldn’t hide the glee from her voice.It was just over an hour later and Lucy had
been telling Penny about the time her brother had tried to stuff her into the
dryer when Penny had interrupted her with a soft squeal.

She looked behind her.Jason had just walked into the living
room.Immediately her face flushed and
her heartbeat quickened.She turned away
swiftly.

“Damn, he looks good.”Penny sighed.“I wonder where he’s been for the last two weeks.”

Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

It was a lie of course.Two weeks ago she had been in Jason’s bed having
the best sex of her life and not caring that he was her boss.But, she thought grimly, a lot could change
in two weeks.The Monday after the
weekend she had spent with Jason, she had been on cloud nine, but that had
changed quickly.By Tuesday he was gone
from the office and no one knew why.Not
even Carol knew and she could always be counted on to know exactly where
everyone was at any given moment.Lucy
had overheard her and Maureen talking in the lunch room one day and Carol had
shrugged when Maureen had asked her about it.

“I don’t know.All I know is he had to leave to attend a
personal matter.”The woman had bitten
into her apple.“Jerry’s been taking all
his calls and I don’t even know when he’ll be back.”

For the first few days Lucy had checked her
cell phone constantly, positive that Jason would text her, but when she heard
nothing from him her worry had turned to anger.He had been so sweet to her at the beach house that weekend, making it
sound like he wanted something more than sex. He had certainly fooled her.

Lucy sighed softly and stared into her wine
glass.From the day he started, Jason
had been cold and rude to her.She had
been positive that he hated her and she hadn’t been that fond of him.

“Liar!”Her mind screamed immediately
at her.

She had been attracted to him from the
start, and the night they had gotten trapped in the elevator together Jason had
finally admitted his rude behavior had been an attempt to hide his attraction
to her.They had given in to their
mutual attraction and had mind-blowing sex on the floor of the elevator.She had tried to stay away from him –
sleeping with the boss was about the stupidest career limiting move you could
make – but by the following weekend she had been at his beach house and in his
bed and couldn’t have been happier about it.

It hadn’t taken long for the women in the
office to start drooling over him and an office bet had been started.The first one to bed their sexy new boss
would win a gift certificate to the spa.Lucy had not been invited to join the bet and she had told no one about
sleeping with Jason. But, after discovering the bet, Jason had bought her a gift certificate to Heaven’s Gate Spa.

Two weeks without seeing him, without
hearing his deep voice or having him touch her in the way she had grown way too
accustomed to in way too short of a time, had left her feeling lonely and
blue.She had been confused by her
reaction.A weekend of sex did not make
a relationship and she had never been the type of girl to fall quickly for
someone.In fact, she hadn’t had a
serious relationship in three years and she had been perfectly content with
that.

Although Jason had mentioned he wanted it
to be more than sex between them, they weren’t actually dating yet and he was
under no obligation to share anything with her.Still, she couldn’t shake her hurt over his two weeks of silence.

“He
probably regretted what he said.”A voice inside of her whispered.“He
probably changed his mind about having a relationship with you and used his two
weeks away from the office as the perfect way to send a message to you.You’re stupid if you think he would risk his
entire career just to spend some time between your legs.You’re good in bed girl but you’re not that
good.”

Lucy took a large gulp of wine.That was another thing – despite her poofy
hair, extra few pounds, and pale-as-a-freaking-vampire skin – she’d always had
loads of self-confidence.She’d never
doubted her ability to get or keep a man until Jason Young had come along, and
she hated that he had rattled her confidence so much.

So what if he didn’t want her?Like her mom always said - there were plenty
of other fish in the sea.And not one of
those fish was her boss.She was better
off not having anything to do with Jason Young.

“Lucy?Are you okay?”Penny was staring at her oddly and Lucy
forced herself to smile at her.

“Just fine.Why?”

“You looked weird for
a minute there.”Penny studied her
closely and Lucy widened her smile.

“I’m good.”

“Okay, well if you’ll
excuse me, I think I’ll go and say hello to Jason.”

Lucy rolled her
eyes.“Seriously Penny?”

Penny wiggled her
eyebrows at her.“Hey, I have an office
bet to win remember.Alex is already
glued to his side and Maureen and Jamie are eyeing him up from across the
room.”

Lucy moved to the
dining room as Penny practically sprinted across the living room to Jason.She stared out the patio doors into the
backyard and reminded herself repeatedly not to turn around and scan the living
room for Jason.

She smiled when a
familiar voice said, “Hello Lucy.”

She looked down at the
short website developer standing next to her.“Hey Carlos.How are you?”

“I’m good.How are you?”

“I’m well thanks.Enjoying the party?”Lucy asked politely.Carlos was a nice guy and she had a feeling
he was interested in her as more than a co-worker, but he was definitely not
her type.Forgetting that he was four
inches shorter than her, he was loud and boisterous and commanded the attention
of the room.She had always preferred
the quiet types.She was attracted to
the type of guy who radiated a quiet confidence and didn’t need to use loud
words and grand gestures to get people’s attention.

Jason’s type. Her inner voice whispered immediately.She groaned irritably to herself.Would she have even one day where she wasn’t thinking about her stupidly
hot boss?

“I am.It was nice of Jerry to throw this for us.” Carlos
moved a little closer and squeezed her arm lightly.

“Have you gotten
something to eat yet?” He asked.

She shook her
head.“No, I was chatting with Penny and
haven’t hit the buffet table yet.”She
looked behind her at the dining room table that was laden with food.

He tugged on her arm
and she allowed him to lead her to the table.“Let’s grab a bite to eat then.”

Jason looked over
Alex’s shoulder, tamping down his irritation when he watched Carlos squeeze
Lucy’s arm.He led her to the table and
they began to help themselves to the food.Carlos said something to Lucy that made her laugh and Jason frowned. The shorter man was standing way too close to
her, his arm brushing against hers, and when he led her out of the dining room
and into the backyard he had to stop himself from following.

“Jason?” Alex brushed her hand across his chest.“Earth to Jason?”

“Sorry? What?”He said a bit impatiently.

“I asked where you’ve
been for the last two weeks.”The blonde
woman smiled at him as Penny and Maureen stared at him expectantly.

“It was a personal
matter.”He said shortly.

“Oh of course, I’m
sorry.I didn’t mean to pry.”Alex said hastily.

He peered over her
shoulder again but Carlos and Lucy had moved away from the patio door and he
couldn’t see them any longer.

“So, what do you like
to do for fun Jason?”Penny asked
eagerly.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this small excerpt from "Twice Tempted". Remember to check back on September 6th for your chance to win a free copy!

Elizabeth Kelly

Amazon Author Profile

About Me

Welcome! My name is Elizabeth Kelly and I'm a romance novelist. I'm also Canadian. And possibly (definitely) addicted to Pop Tarts.

I grew up in Ontario, Canada and now live in Alberta with my husband Ben and my cat Murray. Ben is awesome and fully supports my obsession with writing. Murray is not quite as supportive and spends a good deal of time lying on my keyboard while I'm trying to write. He does, however, appreciate the crumbs from my Pop Tarts.

I realized I was meant to be a writer when I discovered that other people didn't spend their free time making up elaborate stories in their head. It took me awhile to figure out that the stories didn't have to stay in my head and that writing them out felt much better than having them clattering around in my brain.

A romantic at heart, it made sense that the stories I would be drawn to write would be romance.I'm also unabashedly in love with the idea of Happily Ever After, so rest assured that my books will always have a happy ending.

I love interacting with readers so feel free to contact me using the form at the bottom of the website or just drop me an email at elizabethkellybooks @ gmail . com.I'm so thrilled to have you join me on this journey!Happy Reading!

Coffee Time Romance

My Books on Amazon

Red Moon

Tempted

Twice Tempted

The Necessary Engagement

Amelia's Touch

The Rancher's Daughter

Healing Gabriel

Search This Blog

Contact Me

Name

Email
*

Message
*

There was an error in this gadget

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony.